What Needs To Happen To Restore Democracy To America?

First of all, let me stress that I am common man. I am middle-class citizen in Augusta, Georgia. I am not a political maniac, I do not have a Masters degree, and I love my country. I even thought High School was a pretty lousy experience. Most of all, I want your opinion on my idea. You can E-Mail me at the bottom of this page.

The Problem. . .

-----Our country has not always been divided by the political dividing lines called parties. Up until the early 1800's the idea of a 'Party System' was considered to be counterproductive to the welfare of the country. Parties, however, were eventually established largely to let common people, who were avoiding the polls on election day, feel as if they belonged to an influential group. This was a wildly successful way for candidates to garner votes from a larger section of the population as more and more voters turned up at the polls to support their party. In fact, in 1840, only a few years after parties truly evolved, over 80% of the eligible voters turned up at the polls. Up from 27% in 1824 (just 16 years earlier) and unheard of today. This amazingly tremendous increase in voters was just what the country needed at the time.

-----Fortunately, for our country the founders of the original parties had the foresight to realize the need for multiple political organizations. The Democrats simply believed in expansion of both the common man's rights and the country's territory. The other party of the day, The Whigs, basically believed in intensifying the power of the government and taking a cautious approach to expansion in the West. Even in these days though, the main goal of any party member was winning the next election and adjustments were made to the political party philoslophy to allow candidates to win the election in their constituency.

-----Things were bad then, but things have changed for the worse.

-----No one doubted the necessity of representatives to the government at the time since this was the only way that the views of their community had a chance of being expressed and acted upon. There was no chance of each individual making their opinion known on national, or even state, decisions in the 1800's. Representatives were simply needed to make the opinion of the people known, though never has following the will of the people been a requirement for a representative. In fact, it would be many generations before anyone even considered the idea of the common people being able to vote on any issue which concerned him or her.

-----Today we have developed political party problems which are affecting the integrity and reputation of out nation. The Clinton/Lewinski scandal has convinced me that the people of this country are no longer having their wishes followed. If I am wrong, that means that almost 100% of the constituencies with a Republican representative believe that Clinton is guilty of crimes which threaten the very fabric of our country. Just as unusual is the almost 100% of the Democrat constituencies that believe our president is not guilty of these crimes. Our leaders are not voting their conscience and they are not supporting our wishes. They are simply doing what their party tells them to do and whatever will help their chances for reelection when they next run.

-----Personally, I am not concerned about the Clinton/Lewinski issue, other than is further affecting the negative way my country is viewed world-wide. I am neither Democrat nor Republican because not one representative in either party cares one bit what the people in their constituency think when it comes right down to it. The only question in their mind is, "What can I do to keep my seat in the next election?" I am very pissed off. Something needs to change.

A Solution. . .

-----I guess the real question is "Why do we need representatives at all?" We have this communication device called the Internet (you may have heard about it) which everyone has access to one way or another. We can use this device to let our feelings on a particular issue be known, each and every one of us. We don't just need to have our views as a nation expressed every four years when it is time to elect a president. We have the ability to make our feelings known now as to whether we think it is a good idea to give our representatives a 25% raise in the upcoming year. We can cast our vote as to how we feel about State lotteries, poker machines, and even abortion.

-----Well, unfortunately, we do need representatives. We simply don't have the time to research every national or state issue. The common man like you and me has other things to do, like work. We should, however, be able to have a representative who gives us access to information concerning the items being debated and will vote according to how their constituents feel about the issue. Imagine how easy this person's job would be. It would consist of opening his or her Internet connection and seeing how people felt about the issue, then casting their vote according to that. I wish my job were that easy. Who would oppose this representative in the next election? As long as he votes according to how his people feel, he is doing a great job. What else could we ask? Besides, we have to have representatives because I don't think there is any way we will be able to talk the people who currently have those positions into stepping down because they are no longer needed.

-----There has to be a good solution for this problem. We need a new party. A party that has representative that know what the people want and vote that way. It is an easy solution. What will it take? Well, we will have to be able to change our ideas about how the democracy is supposed to run. We will have to say to ourselves, "I no longer agree with the way things are being done and I want a change." Most importantly we will have to find good and honest representatives who understand what this party stands for and kick their butts out when they don't do as we ask. I suggest forming the Program Party.

-----The ideal candidate for this party is still up for consideration, as are many of the issues concerning this party's goals and philosophy. The candidate must have computer skills and be familiar with their advantages and disadvantages of this technology. He or she must also account for all of their decisions with records that show how the people he represents felt about each issue. The representative must be smart enough to know that they only have one job: to represent the people who put him or her in office.

-----Traits this candidate does not have to have:

----------1. Speaking Skills - I propose we don't elect this person depending on how well he or she sways people with their good looks, speeches, or political vocabulary.

----------2. A Spiffy Record - If Sadaam voted the way that we feel on every issue, I say let him in (actually a spiffy record doesn't really matter anyway in today's elections, so we can just have a good chuckle at this one).

----------3. Superhuman Intelligence - I believe we already have all the people smart enough to make it through law school representing us and it hasn't helped. However, the candidate should be smart enough to make sure he doesn't leave any evidence on his mistress's clothing.

-----Traits this candidate should have:

----------1. Common Sense - Enough to know that he or she will be sent packing with a decision contrary to the one delivered by the people in his constituency.

----------2. Some Brains - Enough to know that he or she will be sent packing with a decision contrary to the one delivered by the people in his constituency.

----------3. A Contract - Showing that he or she realizes that they will be sent packing with a decision contrary to the one delivered by the people in his constituency.

-----Sounds simple to me. Let me know how you think I can improve this model. I want your ideas about a better party idea and also what else we should look for in a party candidate.